This invention relates generally to remote controllers and devices compatible with remote controllers, and more particularly, to systems and methods for intelligently pairing a remote controller to a device.
A remote controller (also known as remote, remote control, wireless controller, or portable remote controller) allows a user to conveniently operate a device from a distance. Remote controllers are generally included with consumer electronic devices such as televisions, stereos, cable set-top boxes, etc. More recently, newer electronic devices such as computers, video-on-demand (VOD) terminals, portable music players, and mobile phones have been designed to work with remote controllers. Furthermore, various remote controller-compatible electronic devices can now be inter-connected via wired and wireless paths.
A typical remote controller can be battery-powered and can include a wireless transmitter, such as infrared transmitter, for sending commands to a device and buttons for specifying particular commands to send, such as POWER ON. A typical host device that works with a remote controller can include a wireless receiver, such as infrared receiver 1 for receiving commands from the remote controller and logic configured to interpret and carry out the commands. For an in-depth discussion of remote controllers, see Jack I-Chieh Fu, et al., “TECHNIQUES FOR PAIRING REMOTE CONTROLLERS WITH HOST DEVICES,” U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0080823, published Apr. 12, 2007.
Device vendors can include compatible remote controllers with different kinds of devices it sells. For example, a vendor can include the same type of remote controller with a computer and with a docking station for portable electronic devices. In such a case, the effect of a single device responding to commands from multiple remote controllers can arise. For example, both the remote controller that came with the computer and that came with the docking station can be used to turn on the computer, which can cause user confusion. Another effect that can arise is multiple devices responding to commands from a single remote controller. For example, when the user sends a POWER ON command to turn the computer on using the remote controller that came with the computer, both the computer and the docking station can turn on in response to the POWER ON command.
A current solution to the effect of a single device responding to commands from multiple remote controllers is to pair a remote controller with a device using a button combination on the remote controller. A remote controller can have a unique identifier transmitted with every command that identifies the command as being from that remote controller. Once that remote controller is paired with a device, the device responds only to commands from that remote controller. However, this solution does not address the effect of multiple devices responding to commands from a single remote controller.